Swiss must do right thing

Tuesday

Sep 29, 2009 at 3:15 AMOct 1, 2009 at 5:35 AM

Roman Polanski, movie director and convicted child rapist, has been jailed in Switzerland on a U.S. arrest warrant.

Having fled the United States before sentencing in 1978, Polanski was taken into custody by Swiss officials when he arrived in Zurich last week. There he was scheduled to receive a lifetime achievement award from a film festival.

Polanski, who had sex with a 13 year-old girl while in Los Angeles in 1977, should be considered a pariah. Justice demands he be shipped back to the states ASAP.

But Polanski has his defenders. According to The Associated Press, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has called the arrest a "bit sinister."

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski as well as Kouchner have reportedly lobbied U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey.

For his part, Polanski said through his attorney that he "was shocked, dumbfounded, but he is in a fighting mood and he is very determined to defend himself."

Should the Swiss grant Polanski bail while a call for his extradition is processed, there is little doubt he will skip again [EM] to a friendly country that is willing to trade Polanski's directorial credits for the rape.

But there is hope that the Swiss justice system will do the right thing.

Less than two months ago, the Scottish government received an international flogging when convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was released.

Diagnosed with terminal cancer, the terrorist was greeted with a hero's welcome when he returned to Libyan soil [EM] a scene broadcast around the globe.

If the Swiss were paying attention, they should be more than interested in avoiding the public humiliation suffered by Scottland. In this case that means keeping Polanski behind bars until U.S. marshals can take custody and fly him back to Los Angeles.

As for that film award Polanski was slated to receive, there must be someone more deserving - much more deserving - than a rapist and child molester.